This year, we returned to Pierce College with Fernando and Jessica …. except this time on a Saturday night.

First to Fab Dogs for dinner, and then we ended up getting to the actual Halloween Harvest Festival a little before 9p (after stopping for cash AND having to park miles away).

Once we FINALLY got there …. this was the line..

Correction: This was TWO lines of equally ridiculous length …

So, we had to wait about … 30 minutes? 45? maybe longer, I’ve blocked it from my memory….. Just to buy tickets to get in.

Finally in … Just before 10p sometime.

In addition to the corn MAZE … there is also a haunted corn … path (we did this last year), 2 haunted-house type places, a petting zoo, crafts and (of course) a pumpkin patch.

For whatever reason, the line to do the haunted corn path was looooong. Even though it’s not so good.

Luckily for us, we seem to be the only ones who know that. There was no line whatsoever for the actual MAZE…

If you’ve never done a corn maze … I should tell you: they GIVE you a map. There maze is set up as some sort of picture/creature/etc with check points throughout. They give everyone a little map (maybe about 4×6) and the idea is to punch your map with the hole-punch provided at each check-point.

For whatever reason, when we used to go with Michelle we would always forget to bring a flashlight. …. And, yes, it’s less scary with a flashlight, but there’s no way to actually read your map w/o one.

Unless, you WANT to get lost in the dark in a corn maze…. I mean, I’ve seen Children of the Corn, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre and all those other movies that involve middle-of-nowhere fields … I’m glad Andrew remembered the flashlight this time.

Besides, having just that spot of light makes for some fun photos (without using the flash on the camera)….

Also helpful?

I am EXCELLENT at ‘Corn Maze’ … . Or, rather, I am excellent at reading a nonsensical map in the dark.

We didn’t really get lost at all…. .Ok, maybe my excellence took all the fun out of it (for Andrew at least), but I led the charge and got us to all the check points …

Do you think corn-maze-skills translate into any real-world skills?

Jessica pulled up her Pandora app on her phone and started playing some John Carpenter soundtrack while we wandered around in the dark …. It was that perfect little extra touch

(blurry, but still spooky…. after all, what do you expect in the dark?)

after soaring through the corn maze with flying colors (no prize for being awesome, though) … we wandered around a bit more.

Most of the ‘exhibits’ or activities, or whatever you would call them were closed since it was so late ….

…. but we still got to feed a 4-horned sheep (goat? Just realized I have no idea)…

And got the best cotton candy deal ever.

2 for $5 …. and they handed me this one and I just about laughed out loud.

$2.50 for cotton candy twice the size of my head?? Yes please!

Yep, corn maze has GOT to be an autumn tradition from now on … tooo much fun!

When I was growing up, we used to get little apple cider powder packets in bulk from Costco.

And then when Andrew and I started dating, we would hang out drinking apple cider every night after work.

We even included apple cider as part of our wedding favors.

Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things about autumn!

Last fall season I perfected my recipe for homemade hot apple cider…

Ingredients:

apple juice (or spiced cider from Trader Joe’s or similar)

If you are using already spiced cider, you likely won’t need to add anything extra

If you are just using apple juice (like I do), you can add in spices now while it’s heating. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.

caramel topping

cinnamon

whipped cream

Steps:

Heat up the apple juice in a sauce pan over very low heat. Try not to let it boil

Add spices as needed – I put in about 1 clove and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon per cup of cider I’m making.

Using a spoon, take a small amount of the caramel topping and coat the inside of the coffee mug you will be drinking out of. Do this as late as possible, as the caramel will start pooling at the bottom of the mug rather than staying on the sides of the mug.

Pour in your heated spiced cider

Top with whipped cream.

If desired, top the whipped cream with a bit of drizzled caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Yes, ridiculously simple. But my super-secret trick is coating the inside of the mug with caramel … Makes SUCH a difference. Seriously, try it out!

Finally the weather is cooling down. Finally at night it’s chilly in our apartment. I love the fall (I think I posted about Fall last year as well). Amy and I have a tradition of watching scary/sci-fi/thriller/cheesy spooky comedies starting in October….well, this is our second year. But we don’t watch spooky movies all year round so that it makes it feel rather special when we start up in October.

I went for a walk the other night in Santa Monica and saw one tree with the leaves turned orange in a neighborhood full of green leaf trees. I love when the Santa Ana winds blow and the sun is still shining and warm. I love being outside in Fall. It reminds me of trick-or-treating with family and friends….of being care-free. I think I love the start of the holiday season, how even though it’s super busy and kinda scary with all the insane shoppers, it’s still magical. Amy and I always try to get all of our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving so that way we can relax while everyone else is running around like mad. So if you’re the type of person that thinks Amy and I will be buying you a Christmas gift, please send me a wishlist of sorts. You can send it to my email or just post a comment on my blog. Except the Guzzler. I already got his gift about a month ago. He’s the easiest for me.

Oh, what a surprise I’m rambling. But it’s 11:36 PM on Friday night and this post needs to be ready for tomorrow morning. I can’t wait for Starbucks to get their Apple Cider in. I usually don’t drink coffee from there because I prefer to brew my own, but their cider is warm and rich and delicious. I think it has caramel in it. not carmel. caramel.

Ok, Hot Fuzz is on the television right now and I want to go watch it. Sunday’s blog post will be more thought out than this one for sure……maybe.

Also, I might need to get a haircut before Italy. It’ll be hard to control when I’m over there probably.